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After sailing though House on bipartisan vote, Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal now goes to Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline.The hard-fought compromise pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, but Biden and McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition to push to passage on a robust 314-117 vote late Wednesday.“We did pretty dang good,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said afterward.Amid deep discontent from Republicans who said the spending restrictions did not go far enough, McCarthy said it is only a “first step.”Biden, watching the tally from Colorado Springs where Thursday he is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy, phoned McCarthy...

LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ people are flocking to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park rides, mingle with costumed performers, dance at all-night parties and lounge poolside at hotels during Gay Days, a decades-long tradition. Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have championed a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws — spurring the most prominent gay rights group in the U.S. and other civil rights organizations to issue warnings that the Sunshine State may no longer be safe — Gay Days organizers are still encouraging visitors from around the world to come to one of Florida’s largest gay and lesbian celebrations. They say a large turnout will send a message that LGBTQ+ people aren’t going away in Florida, which is continually one of the most popular states for tourists to visit. If the hoped-for 150,000 or more visitors come to the half-week of pool parties, drag bingo and thrill rides at Orlando’s theme parks and hotels, then “t...

Debt ceiling deal advances pipeline and tweaks environmental rules. But more work remains.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite weeks of negotiations, the White House and House Republicans were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement to overhaul environmental regulations and streamline federal permitting as part of their debt ceiling deal, instead settling for limited changes that could simplify some project reviews.The final legislation, approved late Wednesday by the House, includes provisions to speed up infrastructure projects under the landmark National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. However, it does not clear the way to build large-scale electricity transmission lines, instead ordering a two-year study of the issue. One project got special treatment: the legislation essentially ensures construction of the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $6.6 billion project to transport natural gas through Appalachia. The White House supported the plan over the objections of environmentalists as a concession to Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who was a key vote for la...

Grand jury charges ex-GOP candidate with election interference in shootings at lawmakers’ homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A failed political candidate has been indicted on federal charges including election interference in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque takes aim at former Republican candidate Solomon Peña and two alleged accomplices with additional conspiracy and weapons-related charges in connection with the shootings in December 2022 and January of this year on the homes of four Democratic officials, including the current state House speaker.The attacks came amid a surge of threats and acts of intimidation against election workers and public officials across the country after former President Donald Trump and his allies spread false claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez highlighted that the shootings targeted the homes of two count...

Italy displays antiquities looted from Italian territory and recovered from London dealer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy on Wednesday displayed hundreds of antiquities that had been looted from Italian territory and were recovered from a London antiquities dealer.The 750 objects, which date from the 8th century B.C. and the medieval period, include an Etruscan three-legged bronze table, marble busts of men from the imperial age, and wall paintings that are believed to be from the area of Mount Vesuvius.The Culture Ministry valued the items at 12 million euro ($12.79 million), according to a statement.They were in the possession of a London company in liquidation, Symes Ltd, owned by dealer Robin Symes.“The most complex moment was when the liquidators showed their availability (to return the objects), which was a willingness that implied a demonstration of illegality,” said Carabinieri Cmdr. Vincenzo Molinese, who is in charge of the carabinieri unit protecting cultural heritage. He said Symes didn’t provide documentation for the artifacts, but research showed the items had been illeg...

Republicans get their IRS cuts; Democrats say they expect little near-term impact

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are seeking to make good on their campaign promise to rein in the IRS with cutbacks built into the debt ceiling and budget cuts package moving through Congress.The bill rescinds $1.4 billion given to federal tax collector in the Democrats’ health and energy package that was approved last year on party-line votes. The White House says the debt deal also includes a separate agreement to take $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years and divert those funds to other nondefense programs.Democrats expended a lot of political capital to get the IRS more money last year. They faced an onslaught of campaign ads, many of them misleading, about the expected hiring of 87,000 “new agents” to target low- and middle-class Americans. Now, Biden administration officials are offering assurances that the spending cuts secured by Republican negotiators will have minimal impact on the agency’s operations over the next few years. The agency is on course to...

Trump returns to campaign trail in Iowa as GOP rival DeSantis makes case to New Hampshire voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail Thursday as his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is undertaking his first swing through early voting states as an official candidate.Trump is back in Iowa nearly three weeks after canceling his last event, a large rally near Des Moines, due to a tornado warning, reluctantly ceding the spotlight to DeSantis as the governor crisscrossed the state ahead of his campaign launch.Trump, who has spent the last few weeks attacking DeSantis on social media and mocking his glitch-filled kickoff announcement, has a series of events scheduled around Des Moines followed by a town hall airing on Fox News Channel on Thursday night.DeSantis is coming off a two-day burst of stops around Iowa, which leads off the GOP presidential primary contest next year. On Thursday, he will be in the early voting state of New Hampshire, with stops scheduled in Laconia, Rochester, Salem and Man...

Minnesota Aurora hang 10 goals on latest USL W League victim

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

Minnesota Aurora has started the 2023 season in a league of their own.The amateur women’s soccer club roasted Racine Kenosha County Third Coast 10-0 before an announced crowd of 4,531 fans at TCO Stadium in Eagan on Wednesday.The margin of victory was the largest in the USL W League this season and third largest since the league started last year.Maya Hansen had a first-half hat trick, and it was the second hat trick in Aurora history after Morgan Turner’s three goals against Green Bay Glory last July.Five players scored for the first time this season: Arianna Del Moral, Morgan Stone, Sophie French, Tianna Harris and Kaitlyn MacBean.“It’s nice to see a variety in goals and goal scorers,” head coach Nicole Lukic said. “It helps us as we continue through the season to make players feel good, that they can be the person to score on any given night. Every game we continue to sharpen things up. We’re continuing to find those little tweaks and bring them into our next game.”Aurora beat Ch...

Rockies’ new starter Dinelson Lamet struggles in 6-0 loss to D-backs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

The Rockies took the field Wednesday night with a recycled starter, a young lineup and a monkey on their back.So it came as no big surprise that the talented Diamondbacks cruised to a 6-0 victory at Chase Field.The recycled starter was Dinelson Lamet. The right-hander was not very good.With Charlie Blackmon still gone on bereavement leave for his grandfather, and Kris Bryant nursing a sore foot after getting nicked by a foul ball Tuesday night, Colorado trotted out a baby-faced lineup that included Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop, Elehuris Montero at first, Nolan Jones in left and Brenton Doyle in center.The monkey? That would be the Rockies’ feeble offense on the road where they fell to 9-19 after managing just three hits and not advancing a runner past second base.Arizona left-hander Tommy Henry, 25, dominated the Rockies and pitched the best game of his infant career and kept the D-backs rolling. They have won five of six from the Rockies this season, and with a 33-23 record ar...

Magnitude 2.6 earthquake jolts Signal Hill, Long Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:54 GMT

A small earthquake rattled parts of the Southland Wednesday night.  The magnitude 2.6 quake struck a little less than a mile and a half northwest of Signal Hill and just 4 miles northwest of Long Beach at a depth of 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers at around 7:15 p.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.  “Many are reporting feeling a jolt,” the city of Long Beach tweeted, taking the opportunity to remind residents to always be prepared with emergency earthquake kits.  The small shaker comes on the heels of a magnitude 3.6 quake that hit Tuesday afternoon just 12 miles northwest of Oxnard. The epicenter was just offshore of Point Mugu at a depth of 6.6 miles. Tens of thousands of earthquakes are recorded in California each year, but the vast majority of them are extremely minor. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15 to 20 are greater than magnitude 4.0, according to the USGS. In the continental United States, only Alas...